


Happy Anniversary

by cloud_town



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M, Gen, I'm Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-01
Updated: 2014-02-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 20:16:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloud_town/pseuds/cloud_town
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cause I won't be waking up, my dear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Anniversary

**Author's Note:**

> Pre-Book 1 finale AU, inspired by this incredible song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJJGnTMNLNg
> 
> I'm sorry.

Korra can't sleep and she can't bear to stay awake.  
  
When she dozes off, terrors plague her. Bolin screams in agony as he's prodded with an electrified kali stick, again and again and again. Blood pools in Asami's beautiful, flowing hair; she is dead. When her dreams shift to Mako, tied hand and foot, laid before Amon, she can bear it no longer; she catapults awake, flying out of the bed as a scream rips from her throat.  
  
Every moment, she feels the clock winding down, each moment a gentle, tapping finger against the nape of her neck, the seconds wasting away.  
  
Tick, tick, tick.  
  
Death draws nearer.  
  
She decides.  
  
-  
  
Tenzin is a mere man now; he cannot call the breezes to attention nor quiet the swirling juggernaut over the ruins of Republic City; Amon had seen to that.  
  
He had tried to talk her out of it. "Korra, nobody expects you to sacrifice yourself to him," he said, but she would hear none of it. _Everyone_ expected her to sacrifice herself to him, she had realized. The Avatar was a failsafe, a bargaining chip, nothing more: when things reached their worst, they laid the Avatar on the table.  
  
She wasn't bitter anymore, just clear. Nobody should die for her, because of her, with her, or in her name. Nobody should lose anything else because of her. She has hundreds of lives left to live; they only have one. Far more precious.  
  
Amon had said it himself. "Hand yourself over to me, young Avatar, and no one else need die for you."  
  
She doesn't trust Amon any farther than she can throw him, but it's the last chance she has to fold, and besides, she knows Amon is a man of his word. After all, he has ended the lineage of Airbenders and burned most of the city to the ground - as promised.  
  
Amon, if nothing else, keeps his promises.  
  
-  
  
She toys with the idea of telling them nothing; after all, she is absolutely positive that they will try to stop her, and the last thing she wants is for Mako, Bolin, and Asami to get themselves killed while she's trying to prevent them from getting themselves killed. But the selfish part of her wins out: they are her best and only friends, and they deserve an explanation and a proper farewell.  
  
She just wishes that it didn't have to be tonight.  
  
But every day she waits, more people die.  
  
Tick, tick, tick.  
  
 _Tonight, then._  
  
-  
  
Korra hadn't expected them to take the news sitting down, but she didn't think it would be like this.  
  
A rage like she has never seen swirls behind Asami's emerald eyes. " _No_ , Korra!" she shouts. "You are _not_ giving up like this! You are our only hope and you are being willfully stupid if you think Amon is going to stop! You need to _fight back!_ "  
  
She attempts a weak joke. "Asami, please don't make me bloodbend you."  
  
Asami screams with incoherent fury before continuing to rant. Korra tunes it out but catches bits and pieces of the tirade, like "cowardly" and "irresponsible" and "best friend." She hears Asami break into angry tears.  
  
Bolin, meanwhile, is crying silently, huge shoulders shaking. He pulls Korra toward him, into the fold of his strong arms, and cries into her. "Please, Korra. Please don't do this. _Please_."  
  
She is tired. Tired of explaining, tired of waiting around, tired of feeling guilty. "Bolin, I have to. There's no other way-"  
  
"There's always another way." His voice is cold and dead and Korra knows that this entire thing is about to get a lot harder.  
  
She extricates herself from Bolin's arms, briefly brushing away his tears with the pads of her thumbs, and turns to face him. "Mako, please -"  
  
" _No_." His face is cold, but she sees the cracks, the tremors behind it that he is trying so desperately to hide. She knows his face so well, the strong cut of his jaw and the lovely slope of his nose and the way his eyes gleam just so…She has only a little time left to daydream; he snaps her out of it. "There's got to be another way. A better way."  
  
"Mako, you don't understand," she sighs. Tired. Exhausted.  
  
"No, Korra, I'm pretty sure I _do_ understand. Tell me if I'm right." He takes a step closer to her, never breaking eye contact. "You think Amon's peace offering is your last chance to save some bloodshed." One step closer. "If you give yourself over to him, you think he'll back down, leave, let us all walk free." Another step. "You don't want us to get hurt or lose our bending like Tenzin and the kids." Another step closer.  
  
She can't stand to look into his amber eyes anymore so she turns away. "I can't...I can't let him hurt you. Any of you. What would you have me do?"  
  
He lays a hand on her shoulder; she has to squeeze her eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling over. "Fight back."  
  
"Korra, you can't just lay your neck in front of him and die. Who are you?" Asami bellows. "You have to stand and fight him and die trying if that's what it takes!"  
  
She walks away from Mako and goes to Bolin. She cups his face in her hands and looks deep into his green eyes, trying to make him understand without words why she has to do what she's doing. Tears spill over and slide freely down his cheeks; he makes no effort to brush them away. "Love you, Bo," she whispers, kissing his cheek, temple, and forehead. "Korra-" he whispers weakly, but she has already turned to Asami.  
  
"Asami-"  
  
"I can't believe that you're doing this."  
  
Korra brushes a lock of raven hair out of Asami's face, gently. "I don't want to. But it's my duty."  
  
At this, Asami's face crumples. Her eyes begin to leak, and she crushes Korra to herself. "You are my best friend," she whispers fiercely. "I still believe in you. I want you to fight back. Keep fighting. Never stop." Korra nods silently, brushing tears away. Asami goes to hold Bolin in her arms; he is nearing hysterical.  
  
She turns away and looks for Mako; he stands at the opening of the pipe, looking across the harbor toward Air Temple Island. Silhouetted in the golden light of sunset, tall and strong and perfectly imperfect: this is how she will remember him. This is what will keep her strong and resolved. She has to save him, at least.  
  
She stops beside him, waiting.  
  
"I want to come with you."  
  
"No."  
  
"Korra, I'm coming with you."  
  
" _No_ , Mako. No." Why is he making this so much harder for her?  
  
He turns to her, amber eyes burning with an undefinable emotion; the veneer has cracked. "Korra, listen to me. I cannot let you go. Alone. I cannot. I can't let you go because - because - okay. Listen. My life - without you - I can't do it, Korra. You can't do this," and he's babbling like she's already dying and he's trying to keep her awake and _with him_ , and then suddenly his hand is on her cheek very softly, "Korra, I love you. And I can't be without you. So please don't do this."  
  
 _Oh_.  
  
This, she wasn't expecting. This made everything much, much, much worse. No, no, no. She loved him, this is not how it's supposed to go. She's supposed to take her unrequited love to the grave and he'll never know, he'll probably marry Asami and they will have gorgeous children and live with Bolin and maybe sometimes remember her and bring flowers to her grave - if it's even marked, if they can even collect her body -  
  
He drops his hand after a moment, clearly under the impression that the feelings weren't returned, and Korra's heart aches more than it ever has.  
  
She reaches over and takes his hand, squeezing it softly. She looks into his eyes, hard and intense, trying to communicate without words that _Agni, she loves him_ but it's better for the both of them if he just doesn't know that.  
  
"Can't you see?" she whispers, and there is the hint of begging in her tone that makes him freeze. "I'm doing this for _you_ , Mako." Her eyes bore into his as she leans up and kisses his lips once, very softly. She pretends, for that one perfect second, that their lives together are just beginning. That one day, he will give her a betrothal necklace that he carved himself, and one day they will be married by Tenzin in front of all their best friends and maybe even Tahno, that she will wake up beside him and kiss his shoulder each morning, that they will grow old together.  
  
Tick, tick, tick.  
  
The clock is winding down. Her heels reconnect with the earth. "Goodbye," she whispers, fighting the tears pooling even as she sees Mako's amber eyes wet and shining.  
  
She leaves them.  
  
Time's up.

**Author's Note:**

> This thing has been sitting on my hard drive for more than a year so I decided to finally let it out. It's my first published fic and my first time using AO3! Be gentle with me, but feedback is always appreciated.


End file.
